Why does a goalkeeper need to wear gloves? Is it OK if I don't use gloves?

It seems that FIFA did not specify that "goalkeepers must wear gloves", and I remember that in the early days of football, many goalkeepers did not wear gloves until the knockout match between Portugal and England in Euro 2004, when Portuguese goalkeeper Ricardo took off his gloves during the penalty shootout and not only saved England's penalty, but also scored it himself. scored the penalty himself, which was magical.

There is no such thing as "all goalkeepers should wear gloves".

The reason why most goalkeepers choose to wear gloves is because they are afraid of the cold in winter and their knuckles will freeze, which will affect their reaction when making a save.

In addition, wearing gloves will help to avoid slippage and increase the friction between the goalkeeper's hands and the football when he saves, reducing the chance of his hands coming off.

Otherwise, if the goalkeeper's palms get sweaty, they could all become "butterfingers".

The goalkeeper's gloves also help to reduce the force of the opponent's shot, as the palm of the hand is relatively thin and it is hard to take a shot from an opponent. The goalkeeper's gloves have elasticity in them, so when they receive a hard shot from an opponent, they can "unload" the ball and allow the goalkeeper to control it better.

Look at the strength of a shot from a 'heavy hitter' like Cairo, Carlos, Adriano or Batistuta. The ball is travelling at such a high speed that to catch it with your fingers would be the equivalent of a mini car crash!

So, the gloves protect the hand and prevent the goalkeeper's fingers from being bent too much, reducing the risk of injury to the goalkeeper.